Sunday, 28 October 2012

While out browsing with a friend around some charity / thrift shops in a local town, I came across a lovely gold picture frame & at a mere £1.50 I thought it would make a lovely notice board. It was just the outside frame with no backing board but I liked the bold gold frame.

I have a weakness for gold frames because they are just so effortlessly elegant - this is a wall of gold frames in a favourite pub. Don't you just love it? I know - the puddings are rather good too xx

After measuring the space & having a backing board cut, I needed some fabric. Fortunately, a friend came to my rescue with some perfect fabric.

A free evening was all that was needed then to get started on this project.

I have a need for a notice board in the bedroom above a chest of drawers to hold all my brooches & little bits so this had to be cream & gold as my bedroom is cream, shabby chic furniture with gold mirrors & calm bedding ...

Friday, 26 October 2012

I have a great love for interesting plates, cups, jugs, bowls - any interesting china & glass in fact.

This probably came about from from my Mother owning & using lovely things & then later spending a whole summer in the China & Glass department of a large, up market department store in South Africa during my student years.

I was impressed by how much some customers loved their china & glass - how many would come in to ask us to order in replacement pieces for their special sets. These had to be ordered from the potteries in England & I loved the sheer joy on people's faces when their new china arrived ....

As my daughters grew up, I have used interesting china & glass at home & bought them their own special pieces to enjoy.

I chose the lovely Susie Watson Fairy design when they were both younger ...

The two sets are almost identical & I so not profess to know which plate, cup or bowl goes with which daughter but I love the fun aspect of it

We have been fortunate to add a milk jug each & a butterdish (Gabriella Miller similar to Susie Watson) which is often used as a serving plate.

I am pleased to say that I introduced my girls to china, glass & patterns - why put up with boring when you can enjoy something special.

Wednesday, 24 October 2012

I have a fascination with buildings that are in various states of disrepair & which slowly return to nature because they just have so much character.

This fascinating house belongs to one of my students in rural Shropshire

The house itself is unsafe but it has a fascinating shape with the branches giving it a strong & interesting shape. It just seems to ooze history - speaks of a time when it was a family home; I'm sure those walls could tell some stories ... The barns are being renovated but I think that the ivy is all that is holding up this house.

I recently also visited an old airfield where we did some photos - this one is also slowly returning to nature with the grass & greenery on the roof, the bushes growing taller & wilder.

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It is fascinating to see how nature reclaims its space & how the buildings blend in more & more ....

Wednesday, 17 October 2012

It was not long ago that I was looking forward to Spring & the freshness it brings & now we are facing Autumn already.

However, Autumn comes with some of my favourite colours which seem to change overnight in to stunning hues.

I love to explore new places & so my friend & I set off to enjoy the Autumn colours in the pretty Worchestershire village of Arley.

Arley Station on the Severn Valley Railway route

The lovely, unassuming Arley church

It was our first visit to the stunning arley-arboretum and it did not disappoint.

These massive redwood trees just towered above us & looking up to photograph them made me feel a little dizzy ...

The walled Italian garden was stunning with two gorgeous fountains & a lovely arbour - I have been thinking about an arbour all summer for my garden ... I think I should!

I rather like guinea fowls which were always a familiar sight around Africa & these were some that were browsing in the walled garden. I have not seen a white one before & the other motley one may have been a juvenile - please tell me if you know why its feathers were still grey rather than patterned.

We had come to view the trees and were not disappointed with the selection. I loved the beautiful colours & shapes of the leaves - here is a selection of ones I photographed!

Because of our very wet Summer, there were loads of interesting fungi / mushrooms under the trees where it was damp ... We couldn't get down lower to do photos as the ground was soaked but we loved the stunning detail in them all.

The sheltered walled garden was still an absolute riot of colour - absolutely breath-taking in its intensity! ♥ These colours are just so uplifting!

Some bees & butterflies were enjoying the last of the Summers nectar

My hydrangeas at home tend to be small & not very exciting but they grow ubundantly at Arley in all shapes, sizes & colours .... the top right hand ones would be my choice as they are my favourite colours because of their vintage look in colours that I love. I so want my hydrangeas to be abundant like this so I can pick huge bunches for the house ....

These red leaves entwining on the evergreens reminded me of Christmas lights on a tree because they were so bright.

A very interesting time doing photos in a new place ... I hope you have enjoyed my visit to Arley with me. Please stop by again & leave your details so I can return the visit.

Tuesday, 9 October 2012

I have taken photos for ever, or so it seems & I am always challenging myself to try something new or do something better. Sometimes we are our own worst critics because I know when something is not as good as I would like it to be.

Are you like that?

We are a family that are seldom seen without a camera of sorts as we take photos wherever we are ....

I am a keen food / place setting / outdoor photographer & I know that I get those photos right most of the time.

However, I know my limitations & one of them is flash photography so belonging to a local facebook photograhy group is useful as there is a wealth of knowledge & experience.

They arranged a meet in an abandoned aircraft hanger which seemed a very good place to learn about lighting.

We all arrived bright & early to get the most out of it

While all the lighting was being set-up, it was a perfect time to explore the site - down a dark corridor towards the light

Godson silhouetted in a doorway

Godson - a keen photographer at just 9, posing

My off-camera light efforts

and a product photography photo

More my confort zone - outdoor photo's ….

And youngest on the right & her friend ...

All in all a very interesting time but I realise that I need:
* lots of work on flash settings
* lots of work to fully understand the manual settings on my camera that I don't use too often
* lots more time to go exploring in interesting abandoned places as time ran out for us ...

Do you know your strengths & your weaknesses?
Thanks for stopping by, leave a comment so I can return the visitDee ~♥~

Welcome to my blog

About Me

♥ Welcome to my world of vintage & interesting things which I use in my home & table scapes. I always have a project on the go - gardening, sewing, furniture painting, craft, thrifting & much more. I love photography & am seldom without a camera to capture moments. Thank you for visiting my blog - please leave a comment so I can return the visit♥